Education/Outreach

Over 300 students from six different villages enjoyed our environmental education activities in the course of two years.

The school outreach component is about conveying environmental concepts, mainly biodiversity conservation and recycling, to elementary schoolchildren in Iraqi Kurdistan. Activities are being used and tested in schools in villages around Piramagroon Mountain in the Governorate of Sulaimani, with constant coordination and consultation from our partners, the Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh and BirdLife International. The ultimate goal was to produce an environmental education toolkit for elementary schools in Iraqi Kurdistan Region that has the potential to be expanded to the whole of Iraq, with different sets of practical activities and games, suitable in different environments and seasons.

We worked with five schools in five different villages in the Piramagroon Area (Surdash, Shadala, Homar Qawm, Kani Shok, and Qarachatan).

We have helped students make their own bird feeders and hang them on the trees at home and in schools’ yards. This activity’s aim is to attract birds to children’s gardens and to help birds to get seeds easily in winter. Other environmental games were “Sound and Color” and “Balance of Nature.”

Let's Make Bird Boxes!

We're happy to share one of our educational projects from the first year of the project!

Making a bird box couldn't be simpler and is one of the best ways of attracting birds into your garden. This project uses a single piece of wood, cut into six sections. Make sure you site your nesting box high up in a tree or building away from predators, strong sunlight and wind. A north-east facing spot is best.